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Column: Mum's the word on KSU search

If you happen to spot Chris Merriewether or volleyball coach Suzie Fritz roaming the Kansas State campus, don’t bother to stop and inquire about the progress of K-State’s search for a new athletic director.
“We’re following the guidelines of the presidential search, where the committee has been asked to sign a confidential statement to not release any of the names of the candidates we’re considering,” said Amy Button Renz, who is leading the search committee as president and CEO of the K-State Alumni Association.
The eight-member committee was assembled by new president Kirk Schulz in March. It features representatives from various sectors of the university — Merriewether from the men’s basketball team, former Wildcat wide receiver Kevin Lockett, College of Education Dean Mike Holen and former student body president Lydia Peele, to name a few.
“There will be a lot of different perspectives that will come to the table,” Button Renz said.
Just don’t expect those perspectives to become public.
“It is a confidential search, so at this point in time there is very little to share,” Button Renz said. “We have advertised the position in the NCAA News, with the Black Coaches Association, and another site called the Division I-A Athletic Directors Association.”
The committee will whittle the list of applicants and forward its recommendations to Schulz, who will make the final decision.
“The process will take place over the next couple of months, and Dr. Schulz will make an announcement at the very latest by mid-June,” Button Renz said. “We’re very, very pleased with the interest in the position. We’ve got a lot of quality candidates that are interested. We just think this will provide a tremendous opportunity for the individual Dr. Schulz will hire in June.”
The search-by-committee is a new process for K-State, at least as it pertains to major athletic department hires. In the past, those decisions were made by the Anderson Hall braintrust, sometimes with the help of an outside consultant.
It’s unclear how the search committee process will affect the bottom line, if at all. You can bet K-State still will weigh the input of influential boosters, the same boosters this new athletic director will be tapping for donations.
“I want to see us compete for Big 12 championships in all sports,” Schulz said in a statement announcing the committee’s formation, “and to do that we will need strong leadership from our athletics director in raising external funds and communicating with an enthusiastic alumni base regarding K-State athletics.”
Still, K-State shouldn’t be afraid to look outside the family tree, even though some surely will push for an AD with K-State ties. After operating under the same leadership for more than two decades, the university and the athletic department could use a fresh start.
K-State reached decisions on two major hires — Ron Prince as football coach, Bob Krause as AD — in part because of their previous ties to the university or the area. We know how that ended.
That shouldn’t preclude hiring someone like Sheahon Zenger, who worked at K-State before becoming Illinois State’s athletic director. The thought here is that he would provide the perfect blend of familiarity and fresh thinking.
You won’t hear anyone on K-State’s search committee say that, though.
Austin Meek can be reached at austin.meek@cjonline.com.